The transfer by plane after the 10th stage last Tuesday saw the riders get into the hotel by midnight. Allain Gallopin, myself and two mechanics and soigneurs, we arrived by car at 2:00am.
The rest day was welcomed by the riders. We were able to enjoy it, with the fantastic weather here. We stayed in the same hotel where we were for our January training camp, the Hotel Caesar on Lido di Camaiore. The beaches were all cleaned up and the deckchairs were out, and I had a fantastic view of the Mediterranean Sea from the third floor. I even got the chance to go out on the bike for a 50km spin with the boys; I haven't had too much opportunity to do that this season.
The boys just kicked back for the rest of the day. Ivan had to attend a press conference but for the rest, everyone was in cruising mode.
Yesterday evening, I went to a dinner organised by the CSC company in conjunction with their seminar in Florence. I drove across there and spoke about Team CSC and the Giro. The participants were very happy to get some inside info and feedback on the team. It was interesting for me to see the other side of the coin, from the sponsors' point of view.
